Kellen Morin is finding her new normal after second ACL injury ends her career

Redshirt senior middle blocker Kellen Morin jumped for a kill against West Virginia and came down, clutching her left knee. The sharp, familiar pain marked her second ACL injury, after being sidelined with one the previous season.

After returning to the hotel, she cried through the night, knowing her comeback campaign and her volleyball career were over.

“I saw her the next morning at breakfast, and her eyes were still puffy,” coach David Rehr said. “I know it is the injury, I know it is the rehab but I know it is the part where she did not get to finish the season on her own terms.”

Her mother, Kirsten Morin, remembers the call she received from her daughter after the injury, “Why did this happen to me? Why me? I work so hard,” Morin said to her.

It was a feeling of devastation for an athlete who had poured everything into returning to the game, knowing that “you do not get back to normal post-injury. You find a new normal.”

Morin felt comfortable with her knee by the time the season started and refused to let the fear of reinjury stop her.

Her focused mindset carried her through 295 days of recovery, 216 dry-needling treatments, two PRP injections and 28 redshirt matches, and allowed her to return to practice in January 2025.

Across 21 matches this season, she recorded 1.25 blocks per set, the fourth-best mark in the Big 12 conference, and she recorded double-digit blocks for the first time in her career, along with a career-high seven digs in her final full match.

“She came all out, she did not hold anything back, but she made the comment, Mom, it was inevitable, I knew I would probably do it again, and it was just a matter of time,” Morin said.

But even if she expected it this time, the challenge feels different. The physical pain is only part of it; the uncertainty about her future now extends beyond volleyball.

It is not a fight to return to the court. It is a quest to find a new normal, not just for her knee but for her life.

Morin’s dreams of playing professionally, competing on senior day to complete her Houston comeback and sharing one last on-court high five with her teammates were replaced with lingering unknowns.

She will not know the full extent of her injury until her January surgery, with possibilities ranging from another tear to something that “may just need to be cleaned up,” meaning recovery could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

She will carry the scars of surgery and the weight of being separated from the sport she has played since her mother first brought her to practice in elementary school. Yet even now, she chooses to reflect on her journey with joy.

That journey mirrors her mother’s in several ways. Kirsten also tore her ACL twice, prematurely ending her senior basketball season at American.

Morin is drawing inspiration from her mother’s success off the court and using it as a blueprint for building her own life beyond volleyball.

“My mother did not let her injuries stop her. Since her injuries, she has become an Ironman finisher, obtained her doctorate, is on the road to earning her third master’s degree, has married the love of her life, and raised three children who love her very much. Now more than ever, I want to be just like my mother,” Morin wrote in a statement. “Yes, my volleyball career has ended prematurely, but my mother has demonstrated that there is life and great success after facing such adversity. There is so much achievement left to have, love left to give, and life left to experience after an overwhelming injury.”

For right now, that means uplifting her teammates, who are in the midst of a 14-match losing streak, and encouraging them through their final two contests.

“She doesn’t want to pour salt in the wounds,” Kirsten Morin said. “She doesn’t want her injury to bring the team down anymore. Which I think is a sign of unbelievable maturity; she’s really had to dig deep.”

Throughout her four collegiate seasons, Morin remained the same competitive and kind-hearted athlete she was as a child, while also growing into a true leader and rediscovering her love for the game.

After transferring from Virginia Tech following her freshman year, the Hickory, N.C., native helped lead Houston to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 28 years.

In 2023, she set a new single-season hitting percentage record for the program at .388, and her 127 blocks ranked ninth on Houston’s current-era leaderboard.

The following season, she tore her ACL in practice while preparing for her senior campaign. Forced to spend a season off the court, she refused to sit on the bench, despite her trainers’ advice, determined to remain part of the team’s signature bench cheers.

“It was hard for her, but she said, ‘I am going to be the best cheerleader I can if I can’t play volleyball,’” Kirsten Morin said. “‘I am going to be standing on the sidelines, and I’m going to be cheering my team on.’”

Now, as she savors her final moments as an athlete, Morin moves forward with the same spirit, knowing she always stood tall in the face of adversity, bringing positivity and strength to her team while discovering what joy lies ahead.

“I will miss you, volleyball, but I am ready for life after you.”